Though somewhat out of the question for us Americans, European readers will likely be excited to see that three companies are getting dangerously close to unveiling WiFi connections in trains traveling at 130kph (80mph). Those three companies are Shutoken Shintoshi Tetsudou (translates as "Greater Tokyo Railroad," I guess), Intel, and NTT Broadband Platform (NTTBP). How close? Well, they're testing the system in a real train o­n August 24th.

Wireless LAN in the "Wi-Fi Express" traveling at 130kph -- Shutoken Shintoshi Tetsudo, Intel, and NTT Broadband Platform (NTTBP) will conduct an experiment connecting to the internet via wireless LAN, within a "Tsukuba Express" train o­n August 24th. They will verify their technology that allows for a stable connection even when moving at high speeds, and are looking for commercialization sooner rather than later. "Flets Spot" (NTT East Japan) and "Mzone" (NTT DoCoMo) wireless LAN services are also supported while at train stations.

The Tsukuba Express connects Akihabara (Tokyo-to) and Tsukuba (Ibaraki-ken), a distance of roughly 58.3km, in 45 minutes. The maximum speed of the train, 130kph, is its high point. A completion of a wireless LAN environment inside of the train would be convenient for people that commute to both work and school between the city and Tsukuba.

In the experiment, optical fiber connects train station areas and areas along the railway to the internet through base stations, which then connect to the train using the 2.4GHz under the IEEE 802.11b/g standards. Communication while traveling at 130kph is made possible by installing high gain antennas with pointed directionality at the train stations, and o­n the train side, antennas at both the first and last cars...as well as high speed handover and mobile IP technology.

Inside the train itself, multiple IEEE 802.11b access points provide a wireless LAN environment. The access points themselves are connected using IEEE 802.11a, at the 5GHz band. The connection to these access points is also stabilized with the introduction of multiple antenna thanks to MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) technology.

Current access points are available o­n a per-car basis, but in the future, their area will be spread to all cars. The base stations at train stations will at first o­nly be at major stations, but in addition to eventually covering every station, the service will in the future include all stretches of track.

The wireless LAN station support when the service opens will be at 9 stations -- Akihabara, Shin Okachimachi, and Tsukuba being three of them -- under Flets Spot and Mzone. The remaining 11 stations are planned to support both services in the fall.

The president of Shutoken Shintoshi Tetsudo, Mr. Nobukazu Takahashi, commented: "by supporting wireless LAN, we will be able to offer 'IT Express' service without no dishonor." Intel's president Kazumasa Yoshida said, "we will complete a wireless LAN environment in the train and at the stations, making this a starting point for the 'Digital City' of the future, pushed by Intel throughout the world."

Inspired by:
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/lifestyle/articles/0507/14/news087.html

Press Release:
https://www.mir.co.jp/uploads/20050714110916.pdf